Close-off device for pipe lines



July 14, 1953 A. F. KLICKMAN CLOSE-OFF DEVICE FOR PIPE LINES Filed Aug. 6'. 1948 FIE-E R.N mmnm mm m m; f m My Patented July 14, 1953 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 1 CLOSE-OFF DEVICE FOR PIPE LINES Ainiel Klickman, Toledo, Ohio Application August 6, 1948, Serial No. 42,772

tion. Some means is ordinarily provided to seal ofl the one section and then the contiguous pipe line section is cleaned by forcing the fluids therefrom and then introducing liquid or other fluids under pressure to force impurities therefrom. It is a desideratum to provide a simple device which can be readily and conveniently interposed between these pipe line sections and which, of itself, will "produce an effective fluid seal for one section but enable the contiguous section to be expeditiously cleansed of impurities.

An object is to produce a new and improved sealing. device of the above character which can be conveniently installed by first loosening the flanged unions between contiguous sections, then inserting the device and thereafter resecuring the flanged fittings, provision being made for venting the pipe section to be cle'anedto enable the contents thereof to be forced therefrom; thev device dinal sectional view showing the sealing disc installed in the position of use, sealing off one pipe section and venting the other section to the outside;

Figure 3 is a plan view of the sealing disc showing the side thereof formed with venting channels;

Figure 4 is an edge elevation of the disc shown on Figure 3;

Figure 5 is a fragmentary plan view of an alternate form of disc in which the radial channels are formed by passages drilled through the body, of Q 2 Figure 8 is a sectional view line 88 of Figure 7. o

The illustrated embodiment of the invention comprises a pipe line P which is made up of a number of sections, each section terminating in an outwardly extending flange I0 which is secured ot a similar flange on the adjacent section by a plurality of bolt and nut assemblies l l, a sealing substantially on the washer [2 being ordinarily disposed between the adjacent flanges for effecting afluid-tight seal. Assuming that it is desired to clean out the section P without disturbing the section P or any of its branches, then in that event, the bolt and nut assemblies ll connecting the pipe sections P and P are removed and the flanges separated sufliciently to permit the introduction of asealing device S which is in the form of a flat round disc !3 having an elongate handle extension 14. The handle extension I4 is of sufiicient length to project outwardly from 'betweenthe flange members ID to serve as asignal or reminder that the device S is in place. The disc l3 and its handle may be of any suitable material, but preferably body is formed with a series of radially extending grooves or channels 5 which terminate at theperipheral edge of the disc and extend inwardly a suflicient distance sothat the inner end portion of the grooves are open to the inside of the pipe section, the pipe section P in this instance, that being the pipe section which it is desired to clean out. The depth and width of the grooves [5 will vary in accordance with the character-of the fluids and impurities within the pipe line. In many installations of this character, the flanges ID are equipped with eight bolt-receiving holes and the sealing device S on Figure 3 is designed for such flanged structures, there being eight venting channels l5 arranged so as not to interfere with the connecting bolt assemblies. It will further be observed that the diameter of the disc body I3 is such as to lie inside of the bolt assemblies 1 I and these assemblies retain the disc positively in the proper position of use. Thus the imperforate or relatively smooth'side of the disc body I3 abuts flatly against the sealing washer H, which is in the form of a flat annulus, and, when the bolt assemblies II are tightened, the pipe section P? is effectively sealed to prevent the loss of the contents thereof. As soon as the cleaning operation has been completed, the cleaned pipe line can then be safely worked on, such, for example, as a welding operation, and,

because of the flat sealing contact achieved between the channeled side of the disc, no leakage of fluid from the line P can take place. The flat areas on the channeled side of the disc are sufiicient to enable it to be drawn tightly against the adjacent flange. Thereafter the bolt assemblies II are again removed or loosened to enable the sealing device S to be removed and are then tightened.

In the form of the invention shown in Figures 5 and 6, the disc S has a hole It drilled from the peripheral edge and between the faces of the disc, the same joining a drilled hole I l which extends from one face. The number and ngement of these holes is similar to that above described.

It will also be understood that in the form of the invention shown in Figures 7 and 8, the cen tral portion of the disc is cored out as indicated at 18 and a series of radially extending drilled passages l9 connect the cored-out portion [8 with the outer periphery.

From the above description, it will be manifest that I have produced an exceedingly simple and inexpensive pipe sealing device which can be readily and conveniently applied in position of use and efficiently accomplishes the desired purpose. The work of cleaning out pipe lines is greatly simplified and expedited at a minimum expense, and danger of liquids or gases leaking from the sealed off portion is for all practical purposes eliminated.

It is to be understood that numerous changes in details of construction, arrangement and operation may be eifected without departing from the spirit of the invention especially as defined in the appended claim.

What I claim is:

A line blind for sealing off one normally open end of one member of a jointed pipe line while venting the adjacent normally open end of e adjacent pipe member, wherein the adjacent ends of said members are connected to one another by radially outward flanges having a circular series of uniformly spaced bolt holes with bolt assemblies extending therethrough to connect said flanges in abutting relationship, comprising a transversely imperforate, disk shaped plate larger than the openings at the ends of said pipe members and having opposite, substantially flat surfaces sealably engageably between the flanges at one of the joints of said pipe line, said disk being of lesser diameter than the diameter of the bolt circle and being unbroken on one side whereby completely to seal off the otherwise open end of one pipe member, the opposite side of said plate having a flat and solid central portion of less diameter than the interior of the adjacent pipe member and a plurality of angularly spaced radial channels in the face thereof emanating from the outer regions of said central portion and extending to the periphery of said plate, whereby to vent the interior of the other pipe member, said channels being substantially uniformly spaced at angular intervals throughout the entire circumference of said plate, whereby, when said plate is clamped tightly between said pipe members, one of said pipe members is vented to the atmosphere while the other of said pipe members is sealed off and a tell-tale handle tab projecting radially outward from the periphery of said plate, said tab being narrower than the spacing between said bolt-holes and of substantially greater radial length than the radial dimension of pipe flanges whereby to project outwardly therefrom whe the disk is installed be tween said flanges.

AMIEL F. KLICKMAN.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 577,924 Libbey Mar. 2, 1897 1,212,886 Benson Jan. 16, 1917 1,274,103 Story July 30, 1918 1,568,976 Jones Jan. 12, 1926 2,354,778 Simpson Aug. 1, 1944 2,386,893 Hamer Apr. 21, 1945 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 22,183 Great Britain of 1910 40,065 Sweden of 1913 

